The 15 Strangest College Courses In America
February 25th, 2009
By Jill Gordon
College is viewed by many people these days as a diploma factory. You show up go to certain classes in a certain order, and eventually receive a diploma. There’s not a lot of love for learning for learning’s sake anymore. But that hasn’t stopped many colleges and online colleges from offering plenty of quirky unique classes that go over non standard educational topics. A lot of the odd courses we found sound like lots of fun, but with tuition costs skyrocketing is it really worth it to spend thousands of dollars on fun diversions? Read on and decide.
15. Arguing with Judge Judy: Popular ‘Logic’ on TV Judge Shows
University of California, Berkeley 
Not quite what one would expect, the professor of this course emphasizes repeatedly in the course listing that this class is "NOT a course about law or "legal reasoning." It is instead an exploration of logical fallacies that are often presented by defendants and plaintiffs on court television shows like Judge Judy and The People’s Court. Seems right up the alley of most college students, as they are squarely in the demographic of afternoon television programming (which also targets the elderly and unemployed). >>> Course listing (scroll down a bit)
14. Underwater Basket Weaving
University of California, San Diego 
The course that is used interchangeably with "waste of time college class", but surprisingly it actually exists, both at UC San Diego and at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. According to Wikipedia anyway. Underwater basket weaving involves making wicker baskets by dipping reeds or stalks of plants into water, and letting them soak. Full body immersion is optional I suppose.
13. Learning From YouTube
Pitzer College 
This college course literally involves watching YouTube videos to study the impact on culture that the video sharing site has had. Students also upload their own videos to the class YouTube channel. The teacher started the course after being "underwhelmed by the quality of the video content on the site". You can actually see some of the classes if you’re so inclined, here’s 10 minutes from their November 16, 2007 meeting. >>> Pitzer Class YouTube Channel
12. Philosophy and Star Trek
Georgetown University 
Philosophy classes often use pop culture to start discussion, there are even plenty of books out there with similar themes as this college class (here’s Seinfeld and Philosophy for instance), but still, when it comes down to it, this course and the philosophical under trappings are just being used as an excuse to talk a little Star Trek. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. >>> Course Listing
11. The Art of Walking
Centre College 
This might sound like the epitome of college fluff, but it’s actually a class dealing with Immanuel Kant’s "Critique of Judgment". The course offers a mixture of lectures and walks around the Danville, Kentucky area including strolls through "nature preserves, battlefields, cemeteries, the nearby Shaker Village, campuses and farms". Students are also given freelance walking assignments in addition to more traditional college work like reading and term papers.
10. Daytime Serials: Family and Social Roles
University of Wisconsin 
While I’m sure most guys would rather gouge out their own eyes than take a course on soap operas, this is probably right up many young women’s alley. This is part of UW’s Women’s Studies program, which I think is kind of unfortunate given the view some people have of that major already. Talk about giving them more ammunition. The course isn’t really about soap operas per se, it’s actually about the role they play in family and work lives of the people who watch them.
9. Joy of Garbage
Santa Clara University 
The Joy of Garbage is a Santa Clara University course that actually deals with real science through the lens of garbage. Students study decomposition, what makes soil rot, the chemicals that give garbage an unpleasant odor, and they also learn about sustainability when it comes to the things we throw away. Classes don’t just study household garbage either, there’s also a section on nuclear waste. And topping things off there are even field trips, with students visiting local sanitation plants and landfills.
8. The Science of Superheroes
University of California at Irvine 
Students at UC Irvine can learn about physics by using familiar superhero icons such as Spider-Man, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. The professor teaches the physics of flying and fluid dynamics using Superman as his example, and the students also learn about super strong spider silk as used by Spider-Man. The professor explains it saying "It gives me a chance to talk about real science but in a context that is very familiar to the students".
7. Zombies in Popular Media
Columbia College, Chicago 
Here’s one I’d have to consider signing up for, the history of zombies in popular media. Lest you think it’s just about zombie movies, it should be emphasized that the course also covers the history of voodoo in Hait, and video games like Resident Evil as well as zombies in cinema. >>> Course Listing
6. The Science of Harry Potter
Frostburg State University 
Not only does Frostburg State offer a course on the science of Harry Potter – it’s an honors course. The class discusses topics such as whether or not Fluffy the three headed dog could be explained by genetic engineering or if antigravity research could actually produce a flying broomstick. The course is modeled after (and uses as a textbook) the book "The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works," by Roger Highfield. The class is geared towards non-science majors and, probably not surprisingly, there is no lab work.
5. Cyberporn and Society
State University of New York at Buffalo 
Students taking this course watch porn. At school. There are actually quite a few porn courses in the US, as outlined in this Time article, including a class at Northwestern that deals with obscenity where the professor screens the Italian movie Saló, a film that has a great argument for being the sickest movie ever made. Seeing it in a college course would be extremely bizarre.
4. Simpsons and Philosophy
University of California-Berkeley 
This one is probably predictable as you’ve got a twenty year old show with plenty of rich fairly intellectual material and a main character with the name of "Homer". UC-Berkeley claims this isn’t at all a dumbed down class, but a fairly rigorous philosophical course. The text of the class is the book "The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh of Homer," edited by William Irwin and features weighty questions such as "Can Nietzsche’s rejection of traditional morality justify Bart’s bad behavior?".
3. Far Side Entomology
Oregon State 
The comic strip "The Far Side" featured a rich universe filled with interesting animals and bugs. Far Side Entomology professor Michael Burgett uses the comic strip as a teaching tool to explore interactions between humans and insects. About the course, Burgett says "The anthropomorphism in the cartoons makes an immediate connection between insects and people … Students take those connections farther, connecting to ideas and relationships they wouldn’t have imagined in a straight systematics course."
2. Myth and Science Fiction: Star Wars, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings
Centre College 
Tiny Centre College makes their second appearance on our list, this time with a class focusing on contemporary epics. Students not only study Stars Wars, The Matrix, and The Lord Of The Rings, they also discuss television shows like Star Trek, Stargate, Dr. Who, The X-Files, and Babylon 5. The course weds these modern day tales to classical myths, showing that many of the narrative devices and patterns employed then are still used in today’s epics.
1. The Strategy of StarCraft
University of California, Berkley 
I’m sure that in South Korea one could major in StarCraft, but it’s a bit strange seeing a college course about the game here in the US. The class uses StarCraft to teach the art of war, discussing strategy and tactics in the famous game. This is actually a student led program in Berkeley’s alternative education program, but we give it major props for creativity. The class has even received a fair amount of publicity with GamePro documenting the first day of class. >>> Official Class Website
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193 Responses to “The 15 Strangest College Courses In America”
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February 26th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Somewhat similar to the zombie class, the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a Vampire Class that studies vampires in film and literature. Main assignments include watching and reading Dracula, reading vampire novels, and researching the culture of vampires throughout the centuries. At UW-Madison, you can also take a course in how to speak Elvish, the language from Lord of the Rings.
February 26th, 2009 at 9:23 am
What, no “study of Seinfeld”?
February 26th, 2009 at 10:08 am
At DePaul University we have a class on Vampires…
February 26th, 2009 at 10:30 am
My university had a course in Gig Promotion.
with hindsight I wish i had done it.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:42 am
The University of North Texas used to offer Star Trek and the Law. It was very informative and also used the philosophy aspect to help draw parallels to global Law Enforcement. And no it was not a blow off class!
February 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Thanks for mentioning my zombie class! Interested parties can see the syllabus online
here.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I went to UW-Madison. While the Elvish class wasn’t available when I went there, my Linguistics 101 TA ended up being the guy known as the world’s most knowledgeable “speaker” of Elvish; he was even consulted on the LOTR movies. (I believe he is now the teacher of the Elvish course
February 26th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I took a class at Ohio State called “the Philosophy of The Matrix”
I got a C. LULZ
February 26th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
there’ a class at my school Chapman University called From Samurai to Pokemon, a look at Japanese History, or something to that affect.
February 26th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I was lucky enough to take two similar classes at UC Berkeley in the early 1990s.
1. Oenology: the study of winemaking
Unfortunately, we had too many under 21s in the class, and couldn’t go on winery tours
2. Cocoa Agriculture and Technology
This included several chocolate factory tours, with free samples
February 26th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I took a DIY science fiction class in college where we studied whatever aspect of science fiction we liked; ex: superheroes, time travel, zombies and made projects from it. Our teacher encouraged creativity and our group got away with an interpretive dance of an alien colonization!
February 26th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Starcraft is probably hands down, the hardest computer game to master. South korean players make upwards of $200,000 a year, not including tournament wins etc.
The game is just flat out amazing, both to play, and to spectate!
February 26th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
The Underwater Basket Weaving class at Reed takes place during Paideia, which is the week before classes begin for spring semester during which anyone can teach a class on pretty much anything (one of my english professor taught a session on one of Tolkien’s elvish languages; one of my classics profs taught a class on English grammar/sytax dressed as a nun… you get the idea). So it’s not really a “class” that one would get credit for.
Great list though! Wish I could’ve taken the Judge Judy class… would’ve had an excuse to watch it without feeling guilty.
February 26th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Why is it strange at all that people would pay money to go to school and study an industry that is worth billions of dollars? The entertainment industry is always thriving and majority of North Americans are suckered into these television shows. It is worthwhile to explore the impact of these television shows and why people buy into it.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
When I went to the Rhode Island School of Design I took a course called, The History of the Dirty Picture. It was a very good course that dealt with sex, nudity, and gender issues in art and literature. The highlight was watching Deep Throat and someone accidentally walked into the room, she must have turned 10 shades of red.
February 27th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Kudos to the Starcraft class. How awesome is that?
February 27th, 2009 at 8:36 am
jd_hayes:
“Seinfeld” was famously the show about nothing. Since that is the content of all these courses, by implications they are all ALSO about study of Seinfeld…
February 27th, 2009 at 10:38 am
i took a sociology class once and the instructor tied every idea to a Star Trek episode.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:05 am
University of Maine in Farmington offers classes in Harry Potter as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The best part is they’re both classes which have the same credit rating as Ideologies of the Ancient World and other actual college courses.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:53 am
At my school (Willamette University) there is a course called Changing Times: The Music and Lyrics of Bob Dylan.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:02 am
What exactly is the lab assignment for that porn class?
February 28th, 2009 at 1:15 am
what about the class relaxation, we have it at UW stout its a bad ass class where you lay around and learn different relaxation techniques.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:19 am
I go to College of the Ozarks, and for the last two summers I’ve spent the summer working in Edwards Mill, where we do loom weaving and basket weaving. I got a LOT of jokes about underwater basket weaving. It is actually a really fun art form, with some really subtle use of color and weaving techniques. We don’t get credit for it, but we do get free tuition or room and board! As a result, I have several baskets I’ve made and I make them for my friends when they get married, and get lots of compliments. If you’re very crafty, it’s definitely something I recommend trying.
I do wish we offered the Harry Potter and Star Trek courses…I’d take those in a heartbeat.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:23 am
hm, i go to uci and i have never heard of the science of superheroes class, must have been from a previous year
February 28th, 2009 at 2:14 am
I attend UCSD and I just looked up the basket weaving class. Here is course description:
“The joke becomes a reality…sort of! Learn how to make a basket underwater and receive a diploma for your efforts. An event to share with your friends and family. Don’t miss this unique opportunity for a splashing and gurgling good time! Taught by Professor Ben Schwartz, our very own Underwater Basketweaving expert.”
This counts as a recreation credit! Go Go Tritons!~
February 28th, 2009 at 2:42 am
Univeristy of Delaware offers both a “Philosophy of South Park” and “Philosophy of Time Travel.” Both interesting subjects, and I feel worth mentioning with this group.
February 28th, 2009 at 6:28 am
I did a course on Science Fiction, which was great. I also did one on Fairy Tales and one, amazingly titled, Madness, Sexuality and Subversion in Victorian Literature.
February 28th, 2009 at 6:35 am
sadly i’ve taken a simpsons philosophy class it was at a smaller university in TX
February 28th, 2009 at 8:27 am
UC Davis has a lot of genetic research going on, usually with plants. Where do you get a cheap source of labor to plow those fields?
ABT 49: Field Equipment Operation (aka Tractor Driving)
My roommate took it. He described it as basically a fight at the beginning of the class for the tractor with a stereo and then an hour of mindless driving at slow speed
February 28th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I hear rumor that Mass College of Art will be offering a Battlestar Galactica class either this spring or fall! I would kill to take it!
February 28th, 2009 at 10:58 am
at the university of Edinburgh, they offer scuba diving, Scottish hillwalking, and wine tasting, to name a few…
February 28th, 2009 at 11:35 am
UW Madison also offers classes in brewing beer. I never took it, but I had a couple of friends who did.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I took a class last spring called “Myth and Popular Culture,” in which we studies the mythological content of movies such as E.T., Titanic, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and yes, The Matrix and all 6 Star Wars films. We also looked at the Lord of the Rings novels and Dune, and I did a paper on The Vampire Lestat. Let me tell you, that was an awesome class.
P.S. The intro lecture involved watching an entire episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I took wild edible plants at IU bloomington
February 28th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I am so fucking proud of Anthony.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
The dumbing down of America apparently has no limits!
February 28th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
i just followed their youtube course little while ago.
February 28th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
No wonder people are so dumb.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I am not surprised by #12. I had a philosophy professor who referred to Star Trek incessantly, to my chagrin. He also encouraged any idiot in class to waste precious time with inane questions and declarations. Largely why I dropped out of NYU.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I took Farside Entomology several years ago. It’s actually a very good class!
February 28th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
There really is an underwater basketweaving class at Reed, but it is not part of the regular school year. It’s part of a series of classes taught during the winter break call Paidaia. It is taught in the swimming pool.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Florida State University has a course devoted to the history Hip-Hop music and the social, political, and economic issues surrounding the music.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Huh, I took a Harry Potter Honors course at Iowa State University. It was actually one of my favorite classes in undergrad!
February 28th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
University of Iowa held an honors Tolkien class studying the triology that I took. The prof has now published children’s fantasy (potter-ish).
February 28th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Back in the 70’s, when alternative courses started. . .
- Alternative Political Science, where one of the text books was mainly a cookbook (great pumpkin pie recipe) (U of O, big surprise)
- A range of Alt Psych courses, mainly consisting of deep breathing, reading BE HERE NOW and connecting with the original nerdy girls with glasses (followed by even more and better deep breathing)…
February 28th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Eastern Michigan University offers a couple of Harry Potter classes. I took the lower-level one, it was pretty cool. I might take the graduate level in a couple years. I’d like to take the South Park class at U of D. XD
February 28th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
North Dakota State offers “Beer Appreciation”. It was 1 credit, and it was great. Beer was actually donated by breweries.
February 28th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
[...] The 15 Strangest College Courses in America “A lot of the odd courses we found sound like lots of fun, but with tuition costs skyrocketing is it really worth it to spend thousands of dollars on fun diversions? Read on and decide.” [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Matt goeringng was a Philosophy major in College….he told me himself on Space Ghost coast 2 coast that one time….
February 28th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Starcraft is an amazing tool to teach strategy, tactics, leadership, communication, the Principles of War, and economics. Of course, it all depends upon how it is taught.
Many of the UC Berkeley classes are student-designed and led. They must be approved by a sponsoring faculty member and the department. What’s more frightening are the courses such as “Theory and Practice of Meditation” which are taught by FACULTY members and are permanent courses in their catalog and satisfy major/minor requirements.
Here is a whole list of courses in an actual major/minor which are basically nothing more than college credit for independent study as an anti-war activist or voter registrar for Obama:
http://sis.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Peace+and+Conflict+Studies&p_dept_cd=PACS
February 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
The University of Rochester’s Sarah Higley used to teach a course entitled ‘Alien Sex’.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Not as cool as the others but at WVU, we offer a class on Russian Fairytales, one on vampires in film and literature, and we have a whole bunch of superfluous PE classes like clogging, badminton, and beginner, intermediate, and advanced skating.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
We had a course at my University called Star Trek and the Modern Man – it was a mix of English Lit and Philosophy, too bad the only professor to teach it retired thus ending the course as no other professor would pick it up.
February 28th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Can’t believe my alma mater had nothing to add… I took a class called “Cosmological Musical Theory in the Pythagorean Tradition.” In one class, we placed plastic cups on a table. With great intention.
Same teacher also taught a class on Finnegan’s Wake. We didn’t actually read the book as part of the class.
February 28th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
to Newarkian:
I don’t know if I would consider “philosophy of South Park” worthy of inclusion (considering that the Simpson’s have been the inspiration for most modern day adult cartoons), but philosophy of time travel sounds like fu$%Ung fun… Donnie Darko anyone?
February 28th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
You can minor in Circus at Florida State, the only large university in the the nation with a full circus. It includes classes in trapeze and juggling.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
University of Alabama here.
We’ve got Underwater Basket Weaving, too.
And it’s an honors course. 8D
February 28th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
As someone who took one of these type of course, it was on South Park, I think they are a noble effort at trying to provide critical study into popular culture. But in my case, the Professor took it way more seriously than most of the students and ended up failing a good portion of the class.
March 1st, 2009 at 12:00 am
Underwater Basket Weaving is a RECREATION CENTER class. You may not be familiar with this, but at UCSD, Rec classes are for personal enjoyment only. You do NOT receive any course credit, and heck, you don’t even receive any “recreation credit”, unlike Ryan said. There is no credit of any kind for any recreation, physical education, or sports classes.
It costs $10 if you’re a student, $15 if not.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:01 am
Western Washington University offers a block class called Monsters. It combines a 4 credit English class where they study monster novels like “Frankenstein” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” with a 3 credit science class that studies the science of monsters. The science class taught a lot of random monster trivia. We learned about what the physiology and evolutionary paths of monsters would be if they actually existed, and got to watch “Outbreak” while studying viruses.
March 1st, 2009 at 3:36 am
[...] aceeasi categorie, top 15 al celor mai ciudate cursuri universitare (Star Trek si Filozofie, arta mersului pe jos, stiinta supereroilor etc) – Online [...]
March 1st, 2009 at 4:30 am
I had a philosophy course years ago (pre 1960s) where we actually sought truth. By today’s standards I’m certain that it would be considered a “strange” course.
Sad!
March 1st, 2009 at 6:07 am
I attend UC Berkeley and the StarCraft class listed at number 1 on the list is actually one of the many student facilitated courses offered by our great university. If you’re interested in learning more, I suggest you go check out http://www.decal.org/. Oh yeah, one more thing…GO BEARS!!!
March 1st, 2009 at 6:44 am
I went to the University of Pittsburgh and took a class Vampire: Blood and Empire. It was a night class (go figure).
March 1st, 2009 at 7:17 am
I went to centre and loved their course options.
March 1st, 2009 at 10:01 am
Inflatable Public Sculpture.
I’m not kidding. It’s on page 6.
http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:_xjWLGiKPgQJ:www.rpi.edu/dept/srfs/topics_courses/spring2009topicscourse.pdf+inflatable+public+sculpture+rpi&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1
March 1st, 2009 at 10:58 am
The Physics of Superheroes course stems from the University of Minnesota seeing as the professor who published the book is the head of our physics department
March 1st, 2009 at 11:01 am
At Clemson University, they used to offer an entomology course on 50s and 60s bug movies. Basically, we would watch the movies and discuss the science behind them. Such as, why Mothra couldn’t have grown that large in real live. It was actually a lot of fun.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:08 am
These are really weird, but I’m not sure why the garbage one is included as that could lead to a legitimate career (and no I don’t mean driving a garbage truck, I’m being perfectly serious). This is especially true as there is less and less land availiable for landfills and pressures to become more green mean that some landfills, etc, are starting to do things such as convert methane decomposing garbage emits to a source of energy.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:38 am
Syracuse university – Life and Times of Little Kim
March 1st, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Oh my god!
I am going to Oregon State University, and they also offer “Societal Implications of the Far Side”
Which I am definitely going to take.
March 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Wesleyan has a class on barking at the moon o_0
March 1st, 2009 at 3:23 pm
This is a prime example why the American college system is a joke. Couple these retarded classes (yes, they are) with lowered entry standards, censorship, political indoctrination, suppression of opposing non-PC views, etc., etc., and is there any question why many (if not most) high tech technically demanding industries are hiring foreign nationals? Congratulations! You’ve spent 4+ years, over $30k, and now you qualify for the mail room at Microsoft!
March 1st, 2009 at 5:35 pm
It just goes to show, you can’t be too careful.
March 1st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Your commentary on the tenth class “Daytime Serials: Family and Social Roles” was ridiculous. The class is clearly analyzing and critiquing gender roles as portrayed by one of the most popular entertainment expressions of those roles: soap operas. Ironically, you furthered the connection between sexism and entertainment with your initial comment on what type of people would like to watch those shows. Hopefully someone from the class can find this intelligent and incredibly important blog of yours and use your biased comments to fuel discussion on the role of stereotypes in the media. Thanks for your brilliant input.
March 1st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I’m at University of Alabama taking a class on the philosophy of the Watchmen comic. It’s great, gotta love college
March 1st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
There are also classes on the filmographies of Winona Ryder and Drew Barrymore.
Zombie class? Sign me up!
March 1st, 2009 at 7:01 pm
The college I go to (Juniata College) offers a course called “The Science of Brewery”…hehe
March 1st, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Ha- as someone that attends Columbia College Chicago, I have to say that the Zombie class is one of THE hardest courses to obtain.
We also have a Simpsons&Society class, Harry Potter study class and a whole range of other ridiculous classes. Hurrah for spending 20K+ a year on education that entertains.
March 1st, 2009 at 7:17 pm
And then we envision ourselves as being better than the rest of the world.
I think this list puts any logical person to rest as to how America will become empoverished.
March 1st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
For the record, the Starcraft course at UC Berkeley is NOT a real class and isn’t considered as such. It’s a DECal, which basically means some students thought it’d be a good idea and convinced a professor to sign off on it. It’s worth almost no course credit (though it is worth *some*), is entirely student run, and can only be taken pass-fail, which means it can’t be used to boost your GPA.
March 1st, 2009 at 9:40 pm
at our school there is a class called the history of middle earth, it is a study of all the books in the LOTR series. Required readings from the books and they watch the movies as well
March 1st, 2009 at 10:35 pm
When I was at University of Chicago, we had one called “Naked & Nude” where you looked at lots of pictures and paintings of naked people and discussed which ones were naked and which ones were nude.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Though I mean no disrespect to the school, lol, I’m shocked that Oberlin College didn’t make this list somehow!!! There were definately some classes there that could’ve been contenders. Personally, I loved “storytime” class.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I go to Central Michigan University and we Also have a Harry Potter Class. A friend of mine is taking it and they read and analize the books. Over spring break they will be going on a “Field Trip” to Europe.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I go to Barry University in Miami and this semester I am taking a Science Fiction class that based entirely around the concept of time travel. We have read H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine” and watched Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeves. I know we still have Back to the Future to watch and I’m not sure what else. Best way to start your morning is debating over the concept of time freshly baked.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:58 pm
The University that I attend in Canada offers “The Sociology of the Simpsons” and “McDonalidization”.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:50 am
UC Santa Cruz: Muppet Magic
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 am
This is the sort of stuff we are talking about when we try to point out to Americans how emotionally crippled they really are.
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:05 am
[...] The 15 Strangest College Courses In America [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:25 am
I’m waiting for Oprahism to be included in comparative religion studies at divinity schools…
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:45 am
As a university professor I find it inexcusable that any administration would permit such courses for fun-and-profit. Of course, “profit” is the key motivator for the institution and “fun” for the student. While a vast number of current students cannot think (they do well on “objective” memorization tests but not on critical essays), have pitiful skills in math and science, know little of history (domestic or foreign), have little grasp of the structure and functions of their own government, and so on, nonetheless a good number of those in the Academy think that entertainment is the way to go. I personally enjoy watching “Star Wars” and some of the other items on the list. But, as courses offered in the context of a college/university setting, and at the prices charges these days, I find all of this both immoral in a waste of time, money and effort as well as dangerous to the students and to the society at large.
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:51 am
What happened to Swimming as an elective?
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:30 am
My husband is in the military – and they used StarCraft to teach them military tactics in a 1 month course that was required for all new officers. I couldn’t believe he had to go TDY for a month to play video games!
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 am
BTW – My husband’s team were the winners in his session of the course!
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 am
[...] The 15 Strangest College Courses In America “Underwater Basket Weaving” is apparently a real class. So is “Philosophy and Star Trek,” “The Science of Harry Potter,” and “Arguing with Judge Judy: Popular ‘Logic’ on TV Judge Shows.” These are actual courses that award actual credit, from universities you’d actually want to go to (Georgetown and UC-Berkley, for instance). Show these to your principal, and maybe your proposed syllabus for “A Study of Physics in Warner Bros. Cartoons” won’t sound so bad. [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 am
I wish they had courses like that when I was in college. Although, unless I was studying to be a psychologist, or pathologist, then I don’t see where any of it would have helped me. Do you?
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
I took The History and Appreciation of Rock and Roll at Florida Atlantic University. Yes, it is a Music History class, and it had actual tests (including listening tests).
I got an A, but I’m a keyboard musician. People have failed the class.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 am
I took a “Summer Festivals” course. We went to summer festivals. This was for credit. Towards a degree.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I took a “History of Electronic Music” class at UCLA, which required going to a rave as one of the major assignments, as well as creating a section of electronica for sampling.
Also, I met a professor at Berkeley who teaches a class on the cultural significance and musical technique of Radiohead… I wish I had that one at my school!
P.S. I believe underwater basket weaving is a major at the University of Hawaii, or was at one point.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
The University of Delaware Philosophy of Time Travel course is amazing. I took it 5 years ago and it was my favorite class. Not a fluff class at all. Lots of difficult concepts including quantum physics and of course lots of circular logic. I don’t think the South Park class was offered at that time, but Im sure it would be great. The UD philosophy department is very under rated and the philosophy professors there are 1st rate.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
During a semester abroad in Australia at the University of Melbourne I took Art: Pornography, Blasphemy, and Propaganda.
It was known as The Porn Class to the commmunity-at-large
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
While the titles may seem odd for college courses, I think I’d rather see students taking these courses than the “reimagined” core history and philosophy courses that seem to be teaching the next generation that America is the root of all evil; Muslim Terrorists aren’t terrorists, they’re really freedom fighters; capitalism is evil, and communism is good; individualism is evil; Christianity is evil, and anything non-Judeo-Christian is good; and (finally) that real science means you keep all the data that supports your cause and throw out anything that refutes it–as demonstrated so effectively with Global Warming.
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I also took a vampire and film and lit class but it was at Rutgers University. It was my most favorite class that I ever took in college!
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Any of these schools have a winning football team? Didn’t think so.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
This makes me think that the course instructors consulted with their respective business schools on how to market psychology, sociology, computer programming, etc. to impressionable teenagers… LOL!
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
[...] 2, 2009 by xenohistorian I just read an article on another blog about the fifteen strangest colleges courses in America. No surprises there, it reminded me of an essay Robert A. Heinlein wrote thirty years ago about [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:29 pm
The zombie in the yellow hat looks like NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. Too funny!
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Underwater basket weaving in fact is used as a valuable training method for divers. It teaches depth control. It’s serious class.
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:00 pm
When Joe Namath was asked by some journalists if he took basket weaving to make his grades while playing football, he said, “No. That course is way too hard; I take journalism.”
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
[...] want to share with you a list of 15 strangest college classes in America posted by our friends at Online Colleges Blog. Personally, these lists always reminded me of some of the science grants that take their shots [...]
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:01 pm
i go to the State University at Buffalo and no where on the course description have i ever seen a cyber porn study… it’d be awesome if they really did have it. If anyone knows what to look for it under let me know lol
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:35 pm
At Ryerson University in Toronto, I’m taking a pop lit class called “Zap, Pow, Bang.” We did a unit on Star Wars, and now we’re reading The Watchmen (perfect timing for the film, let me tell you). It’s a really sweet class.
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
The harry potter class is offered at florida state university..its focus is on fantasy literature
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
A college I attended for a semester offered “Intro to Belly Dancing” as a physical education course.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I am taking a class at the University of Tulsa called “Heroes from Beowulf to Bilbo” its a study of the relationships between classic stories such as Beowulf and Saga of the Volsungs and contemporary stories such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Star Wars.
Its cool stuff!
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I took a course called “math for the environment” at the University of Colorado. Innocuous enough title. Except it turned out it was actually a convenient excuse for some crazy old hippie to spout conspiracy theories to a captive audience. For example: By 2012, we’ll have depleted world petroleum reserves so badly that it will be impossible to make plastic. riiiiiiight
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:44 pm
#7 cracked me up.
Oh, Michael Smiley, and your bright yellow cap.
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Wow. Needless to say, I would’ve definitely switched around my schedule to take some of those.
By far my best college class was “The Beatles and their World.” Never missed a single class.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:16 am
At the University of Texas, there is a class in – I kid you not – Klingon. It’s an actual learn the language class.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:48 am
They left out the Alchemy class at Humboldt State University! No, they’re not teaching a lab on transmutation of lead into gold; it’s a General Ed class about the historical beginnings of chemistry. Sort of like how astrologers begat astronomers.
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:55 am
Wish I’d had these courses back in the day. My space-filler elective was Ethnology of Oceana.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:01 am
Oh darn! To think I wasted all those years studying math, science and literature in college!
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am
I go to Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS, and recently took a class called Foundations of Leadership: The Apprentice and Beyond. All we did was watch the Apprentice, discuss the leadership qualities displayed in the show, and performed our own Apprentice-like challenges. Easiest A ever.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
Isn’t there a “pop-culture” degree from UM Ann Arbor? Seems like all this would be covered there..
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Columbia College also offers a Harry Potter class, a Lord of the Rings class, and a Simpsons as Satirical Authors class.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
I had a course in “Witchcraft and Satanism” upper level religious studies course. Yay Oshkosh, WI
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
I’m a UCSD alum, and while I was there, they had classes like the Beatles, history of Hip-Hop, Bob Marley, belly dancing, Study of cult films…. I guess this is what you get when Beavis and Butthead were modeled after two professors from UCSD.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
As for the Simpsons, there was a lecture on Mathematics and the Simpsons at the last local MAA conference I attended. As a professional mathematician, I can assure you that the mathematics presented in that 1-1/2 hour lecture was legitimate.
I have no doubt that one could do the same with philosophy.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
At the University of Houston, we had this really useless class called Algebra.
Regards,
Tard MacHurricane
March 4th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
they should have warcraft lore here
March 4th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Ha i love how everyone writes about their own schools. No one really cares. Great article though
March 4th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I enjoyed reading over your list, however your thoughts on #10 are pretty offensive. Why are soap opera’s up many young women’s alleys? As if we have nothing better to do than watch ridiculous television shows all day. I’m a 25 year old woman and I do not watch soap operas, and I can honestly say that I do not know any other “young women” who watch them either. Maybe because we have jobs… Anyway, I do not see how your sexist stereotypes have any relevance to the article.
10. Daytime Serials: Family and Social Roles
University of Wisconsin
“While I’m sure most guys would rather gouge out their own eyes than take a course on soap operas, this is probably right up many young women’s alley.”
March 4th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
oh it just seemed unbelivable to me that these strange courses really held in us colleges
March 4th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
they should have class called “what the hell is going on in Lost, anyway?”
March 4th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Why is the Evergreen State College not on here? You can take all of these plus a million other things… the beauty of a liberal arts college.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
muppet magic. ucsc. worst class ever.
March 5th, 2009 at 7:02 am
So a bunch of these comments asked about Seinfeld but the text for it has already been written. William Irwin edited a text on Seinfeld, Simpsons, and Matrix so they are all there for the reading. I speak not for the mans personality though.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:27 am
At school i took a philosophy class where the teacher based the lessons around simpsons episodes. I went on to study philosophy at university. Without an introduction to the subject that really grabbed me I would probably never have done so.
These sort of classes are great in terms of an introduction but they should be placed in context. A class on LoR Matrix etc looking at mythology is a fantastic idea but will only really have meaning if studied in conjunction with the great epics and mythologies of history
great list
March 5th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
At my college, we’ve got a Tolkien Appreciation Class based around Lord of the Rings Online.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
A few of these classes sound interesting, but underwater basket weaving? What the heck? Next they’ll have Culinary Scuba Classes or Bath time Beading. Ugh!
March 6th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Another chapter in the dumbing down of America’s youth. Big surprise.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
As a student that is currently attending Centre College, I can explain a little. Like some other private, small schools we have a 4-1-4 school year. Our fall and spring semesters have 4 classes each for 13 weeks, but in January, we offer a three-week course called ‘Centreterm’. This is where all those funky courses come into play. The Art of Walking and the epics class are actually some of the LESS strange options we offer during the short semester. However, it’s a challenge to take an easy Centreterm class. Both of the classes listed here, as well as the other classes offered, are pretty difficult. They all require serious work, and since we attend 3 hours of lecture, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks straight, it’s a demanding schedule. Centre is definitely not a school to offer ‘fluff’ classes, especially with a Forbes ranking that lists us as the 13th best college in the country. As we like to say, it’s okay if you’ve never heard of Centre College…you probably wouldn’t have gotten in anyway.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
The movie Accepted is starting to look a lot closer to reality…
March 7th, 2009 at 6:58 am
I go to Hofstra University and over our winter sessions they offer a course called “How the Simpsons saved American Literature” It chronicles Simpsons episodes that are based off of classic amaerican literature and how they popularized the story. I really wish I had taken it!
March 7th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Wow. Where were these classes when I was in school?
March 8th, 2009 at 9:34 am
My school, the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, has a course on the Anthropology of Star Trek.
March 9th, 2009 at 12:07 am
I imagine the following question in the zombie class:
1) If you are trapped in a building surrounded by 100 zombies with only single sixshooter, how many of these zombies will be left after you die, assuming you have 100% head shot accuracy?
It’s a trick question, the answer is 95 because you save one for yourself.
March 9th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I took a class on the Coen Brothers films at the University of Calgary. As well as an Oliver Stone class. The best class was History of Music: Led Zeppelin though.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I took Cyberporn and Society during my undergrad at the University at Buffalo. Not only was it boring, but also way too much work for a Communications class.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
University of Michigan offered “Dinosaurs and Other Failures” – very popular, and surprisingly interesting. The professor held his office hours in booth 14 of a local diner, and one class we were instructed to bring cats to class (focus on evolution).
March 11th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I took “History of the Future” at Binghamton University. basically looking at what history can tell us about where the world is headed (lessons from the Cold War translated to a possible conflict with China, etc.) It was one of my favorite classes.
The best part was the movie nights – we watched Terminator, Planet of the Apes, Handmaid’s Tale, etc.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
As an undergrad at Temple University I took “UFOs in American Society” with David Jacobs. It was a really excellent course. it is still offered today.
http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/ugradbulletin/ucd/ucd_americanstudies.html
(Scroll down for course 2062)
March 11th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
You’d be surprised about “Philosophy and Star Trek.” In my experience, Star Trek manages to find its way into examples up all the time in philosophy courses, particularly Metaphysics; Star Trek’s “transporter” is a really handy way to illustrate some puzzles.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Arcadia University has The Harry Potter Series as A Cultural Phenomenon,
Travel to the Stars: Science Fiction From Star Trek, Star Wars, and Beyond.
and
The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney and our Cultural Values
March 11th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I was college classmates with a guy who majored in magic.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I went to University of California, Davis and they had a course that taught you how to operate a tractor in the field. It wasn’t just text book, they had a real tractor for you to practice on.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
I started the class in Underwater Basket Weaving at Reed in about 1980. It is not for credit, as others have pointed out. It was taught in the swimming pool and some people did bring snorkels to class. We gave out a certificate upon completion.
I also taught a class in Tree Climbing, which did get you PE credit. Really it is no more ridiculous than any other PE class.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Dude, these things are pretty much my daily routine anyway. Can I get credit?
Sounds like an excuse to increase enrollment.
March 12th, 2009 at 8:11 am
As someone who went to the Delaware, and took 3 PHIL classes as electives, I’m pretty sure that Philosophy of South Park class is nothing more than a rumor. I know lots of people who heard about it / had a friend of a friend take it, but never anyone who took it themselves. I think there’s more to be said about a sociological analysis of that show than philosophical aspects.
We did have History of Rock, and that’s probably a standard offering, but it was disappointing. The guy glossed over the 70s and 80s and spent more time on Louis Armstrong than Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix. For some reason we spent a whole class period on the Sex Pistols, a self-admitted untalented punk band who were together for about 18 months. I know they put Punk music on the map, but wtf Teach? Anyway, the best part of the class was writing two concert reports, so I got to go to bars for homework.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:19 am
SUNY Buffalo has another interesting course…
Jewish Business Ethics
Took it, got an A
March 12th, 2009 at 9:50 am
The fact that Berkeley has two of the classes on this list make me seriously doubt it’s ranking as the top public university in America.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:43 am
When I was a student at the University of Tennessee in the mid ’80s, I took “History of Rock and Roll.”
Rock on!
March 12th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I know many people laugh at these courses, but when information is presented in a fun, interesting way a great deal of learning can take place.
Personally, I have learned more about life sitting at a poker table than I did in many of the “normal” college courses I took.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Makes sense that most of this nonsense would come out of the California system. No wonder America is falling behind in mathmatics and literature.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
All this absurdity is paid for by the government either through state universities or grants to private colleges; we are approaching a depresiion and we have to pay for this kind of frivolity.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I took the Politics in the Lyrics of Bruce Springsteen at SUNY Potsdam, that has to make the list.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
When I moved to NYC, one college offered a course “Instilling Feminism in Infants.”
I wondered if it was done prenatally.
chsw
March 12th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
As a Centre alum, it should be noted that these courses are only offered during our mid-year winter term, a three-week term that offers a lot of unique classes (including “Basketball and Religion” and “Study of The Beatles”). You can’t take them during a full semester.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
At Ashland (Ohio) University, I took a class called “Love Songs” and it’s what you think it would be. But we looked at how love songs and romanticism has evolved throughout the last few hundred years and even had certain days where we studied the music of Madonna, Sting, Barry White, even the Beatles. Our final paper was, I believe, a 6-pager on our favorite love song. Seriously. But it actually wasn’t as easy or ridiculous as I thought it would be. Definitely a quality class, but nothing like the “porn” one mentioned above!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
When I was at Cal in the 1980’s, there was an extension course called “The History of Chocolate.” I think it was called Botany 20. It included taste testing of course.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
East Tennessee State University offers a MASTER’S DEGREE in Storytelling (insert your own Tennessee joke here)
March 12th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
My english 102 class was spent mostly studying the lyrics of Jackson Brown
March 12th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Are you people seriously complaining about these?
I saw a guy somewhere up there saying it’ll make Americans “empoverished” [sic].
/facepalm
Yeah, because the biggest problem with our society right now is people getting a few credits (out of a 100+) in silly or silly-sounding classes.
Most of these are either joke classes – i.e., classes taken for Pass/Fail at 1 or 2 units – or are actual classes disguised as joke classes. The former ones are for fun, the latter ones are fun, too. I’m sure some are awful and “immoral,” I’m certain others are solid, entertaining, and insightful.
I’m a post-doc at Cal, and I’d love to take a few of those courses if I had the time. Because, you know, it’s O.K. to have fun in college. Really, it is.
And a few silly or silly-sounding classes actually won’t destroy America.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I actually took a class at Nassau Community College (New York) called Circus Arts. It was an athletics course. We learned how to juggle, ride a unicycle, spin plates, high wire (actually set-up, but low to the ground,)and trapeze. I remember, we had guest clowns from Ringling Brothers.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
some courses i’ve taken at Vanderbilt:
Genetics and Literature,
Hypertext: Internet Writing (we play SWG for this)
aaaan currently
Martial Arts Literature and Film (AWESOME)
March 13th, 2009 at 4:38 am
Speaks volumes on the over-funded, bloated, entertainment-addicted mentality of higher education.
Almost all of the schools above are public, most in California (and they wonder why the state’s bankrupt?)
March 13th, 2009 at 5:54 am
OSU, that is Ohio State U. has a course about Skydiving, where you can do your first jump. I believe it analyzes fear and psychology of overcoming fear. God I miss college
March 13th, 2009 at 6:14 am
i know at one time oberlin college offered a course on PHISH and indiana offered a course on frank zappa.
hetty.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Penn State had a class last year on Joe Paterno. Seriously.
March 13th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I took a year-long star trek course at Evergreen back in ‘96 that covered *everything*: sociolology, psychology, creative writing, physics, and of course cultural studies galore.
March 13th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
You notice how many of them are California institutions of ‘higher learning.’
March 13th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
What, no “History of The Beatles” — one of USC’s finest courses (we also had a Star Wars/Lucas class that included an appearance by George himself)
March 15th, 2009 at 6:59 am
I can tell you something about the Philosophy and Star Trek course. Wetzel was one of my professors. The author of the site has COMPLETELY the wrong read on the course. Wetzel is the most rigorous, logical, squeeze-a-femtogram-of-truth-from-the-hardest-stone professor you can imagine. She’s actually using Star Trek as cover to talk about the dry, technical sort of philosophy she loves, which undergrads would run screaming from if they knew in advance what they were getting into. Star Trek is just the icing on top of the sugar-free bran muffin underneath.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I am the redhead in the underwater basket weaving photo. It was taken at Harvey Mudd College, in Claremont, CA. A friend and I decided we wanted to get credit for underwater basketry, so we designed an independent study class around that idea. We DID get credit for the class. Here’s the website we produced as our final project: http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/indian/basketry/hmcbasketry.html
The pictures of the underwater stuff (which we never gave permission for this site to use, by the way) are under the “Read about our attempts at basket weaving” link ( http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/indian/basketry/journal.html ).
March 16th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Techniques of Relaxation at Bemidji State. Pretty much laying on a mat and sleeping
March 16th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Dickinson College had a class known as “Monty Python and the Real Grail” comparing grail lore going back to Chretien de Troyes to the film. Also explored how Pulp Fiction was part of the grail legend. It was a seriously weird class in the English Department.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I love the art of walking! That’s got to be a classic. I couldn’t imagine filling a semester with how to walk.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:04 am
This is interesting. I never knew that colleges are offering these courses now. I can’t blame them, they should integrate the modern world in the course, its a new approach than using the traditional way of teaching. Now, I know, I like the youtube classes, I guess it is more informative.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I think the Columbia College courses need to be further investigated. I attend that school……we have a lot more classes.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:34 pm
For all those complaining about Berkeley and the California school system offering all these courses, I suggest reading the comments offered above on DECals. Its a process of democratic education which has NOTHING to do with your major, gpa, or tuition. Enterprising and interested students have to make up their own syllabi and submit it to faculty.
Sure, there are some real duds, but most of these students work really hard so that all involved learn something from these courses. Relax people. The only thing you could be paying for is the money for the lights they have to use to illuminate the classroom.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Dog Obedience Training…
I really cannot agree more. Nice points there….
April 16th, 2009 at 5:48 am
T’aint WHAT one studies, it’s HOW one studies.
That said, Greil Marcus was also right when he observed that popular culture, finally, is “limited, enervating, and obvious.”
Nice work, whoever selected the images for this article!!